Contents

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Kismet
means Fate or fortune, but note also the other meanings below connected both to the history of the Vegas strip detailed here and to a certain earlier novel by Mr. Pynchon with "Lot" in the title:Turkish, from Persian qismat; from Arabic qisma, lot; from qasama, to divide.

"page right out of history," as the Flintstones might sayThe Flintstones is animated American television sitcom that ran from 1960 to 1966 on ABC, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The Flintstones theme begins:

Page 237

Qiana minidressQiana: silky nylon made by DuPont that swept the fashion world in the 1970s. Fake-silk shiny material often used in bold patterns and, yes, disco-clothing/costumes. Difficult to tailor, apparently. Trust me, you'll know it when you see it.

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lines of latitude
Impossible not to think of Mason & Dixon here.

Aimee Semple McPherson-type
Evangelist, very popular in the 20's and 30's, founder of the Foursquare Church.
She's mentioned here because she was allegedly abducted, only to escape several days later and stumble out of the Arizona desert. But her stories had some holes and raised a lot of questions. Read more here.

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gumsandal
Obvious joke on a hippie, sandal wearing, private investigator, but also, just perhaps, with a hint of Dashiel Hammett's infamous 'gunsel.'Listen to Pynchon himself say 'gumsandal' on the video promo to Inherent Vice.

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Casey Kasem's Saturday-morning Shaggy voice
That's right. Legendary radio host Casey Kasem was the voice of Shaggy on the original Scooby Doo cartoon, which premiered in 1969. How many Scooby Doo references does this make?

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settled in in front of All-Nite Freaky Features
Late night, Wednesday, April 29, 1970.

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tiptoein through no tulips
Another reference to Tiny Tim.

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et cetera et cetera, and so forth as the King of Siam always sez
In the 1956 film The King and I, Yul Brynner, who played King Mongkut of Siam, repeatedly used the phrase "et cetera, et cetera, et cetera" to characterize the King as wanting to impress with his great knowledge of many things and his importance in not having to detail them. This was based upon the usage in the book Anna and the King of Siam which related the real king's playful interest in numerous things, with the phrase, "&c, &c" (used often by Pynchon).

cute kids...with invisible audiences
Is there anything more more of a "low level bummer" about television than the laugh track? In later decades, it was sometimes replaced by a live audience, and more recently by comedies with neither.
for a defense of the "laugh track"